The only thing that I can think from his past that would make him spooky is simply that he wasn't exposed to much. He lived on a private farm with one other horse and his scenery never really changed.

i had a pony that was born and raised out on a huge ranch in the middle of nowhere. Basically all he ever saw was grass and fencing until he came to our ultra busy h/j lesson barn! Was he ever spooky... :roll: I did a lot of the bombproofing stuff (walking over tarps, rubbing plastic bags around him, waving things around him) that did seem to help a bit. That and keeping him as busy and focused as I could. The thing that helped him out the most was taking him to as many places as I could. Shows, trail rides, other barns, etc. Every time we got back home he was a little more calm!

Another thing I like to do is desensitize during feeding time! My trainer growing up gave me this idea. She said her horse was terrified of clippers, even the noise. So she hung up a pair of running clippers over his feed bucket so he'd have to almost touch it to take a bite. It didn't take long for him to get over it!

Things can always be fun, its just depends how you make it to be. Before you start throwing things at your horse that are new, make sure he trusts you. Showing him scary things where he was no where to go for rescuing or cuddling will only make him more spooky and destroy any relationship you have with him.

Build a good bond with him first then progressivly show him new things. He will learn that he can trust you no matter what.

What I do is put scary stuff on my horse in a round pen then let them run around untill they stop and relize its on them and nothing bad is happening.I just ignore the scary thing and act like its not a big deal

Anotherthing I have seen people do is to tie plastic jugs to a training girth. Have seen it work on some horses, but horses like my mare, it did not work on, she just feaked out and would not stop. I fet bad for her so took them off. Just another idea. Don't know where it stands as far as being cruel or not.

I agree with the whole stick and bag thing, but have you ever rubbed a plastic bag all over him? I also agree with the whole taking off the jacket like an idiot thing as well, you never know..... Have you tried to put a tarp on him and have him walk (did this with an Arab mare, she even stood tied and let me drape it over her, after a few lessons of course). Have you also have him walk over the tarp (again did this with an Arab mare, first she thought it was going to eat her, than she realized it wasn't). Have you attached something to his halter to get him used to something flapping in his face? Drop a cloth on his head (again did this with a Arab, and tolerated it). Getting him used to as many sights and sounds as possibly is probably the best thing you can do. Because than he knows that those sounds won't eat him or cause him harm. If you would like to know more natural horsemanship, just PM me, and I'll try and be more of help. Just trying to keep this short and sweet.

Note: Trust is a huge issue. The Arab mare that I did half the stuff with, if I didn't have her respect and trust, she could have exploded at anytime, and hurt herself or myself, but because she trusted she tolerated everything I did with her, with a smile on her face despite the fact she was probably going, "I'm not going to like this. But I know you're not going to hurt me." Another big thing is treats, they are your friend, but only when timed with the response you want. With her, even if it was a second of relaxation, she go a verbal praise, the 'spooky' object taken away and a food reward. This taught her that relaxation is a good thing, even in the face of something spooky. This also works undersaddle, if you have his trust, and he sees you as a leader, he won't react as much. Trust me, when you have their trust, you can do just about anything.

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